Eric (miniseries)

Last updated

Eric
Genre
Created by Abi Morgan
Written byAbi Morgan
Directed byLucy Forbes
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch
Gaby Hoffmann
McKinley Belcher III
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerHolly Pullinger
Running time52–55 minutes
Production companies
  • Sister
  • Little Chick
Original release
Network Netflix
Release30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)

Eric is a six-part British psychological thriller television miniseries created for the streaming service Netflix, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a distraught puppeteer whose young son goes missing in 1980s New York City. The script was written by Abi Morgan with Lucy Forbes directing and Holly Pullinger producing the series. The series was released on 30 May 2024.

Contents

Synopsis

In 1980s New York City, Vincent is a puppeteer in an unhappy marriage whose nine-year-old son, Edgar, goes missing. Vincent's increasingly volatile behavior alienates him from his friends, family, and coworkers. [1] After issues with substance abuse, Vincent becomes convinced that he can reunite with Edgar with the help of his seven-foot-tall puppet, Eric. [2]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Episode 1"Lucy Forbes Abi Morgan 30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
In 1985, New York puppeteer Vincent Anderson, the creator of the long-running children's television series Good Day, Sunshine! and his team face increasing pressure from their network to broaden the show's appeal by introducing new characters. Vincent's son, Edgar, 9, suggests a big blue monster named Eric as a new character, but Vincent is dismissive of the idea. Vincent and his wife Cassie have a loud and bitter argument one night that is clearly audible to Edgar, and the next morning Vincent allows Edgar to walk the few blocks to his school alone. At work, Vincent arrives with a cut on his forehead and ignores many phone calls from Cassie, only to learn upon coming home that Edgar never arrived at school that morning and cannot be found. Shortly after NYPD detective Michael Ledroit takes on the case, a sanitation worker discovers a bloodstained Good Day, Sunshine! t-shirt belonging to Edgar. Ledroit has been investigating a nearby nightclub, The Lux, on Edgar's route to school. He listens to a secret recording he made at The Lux in which a young boy's voice can be heard. Vincent, distraught, resorts to drinking. He begins to focus on Edgar's drawings of Eric after discovering many of them in the boy's room. The next morning, he starts imagining that Eric is with him and is urging him to find Edgar. Meanwhile, Edgar's red jacket is seen in the street.
2"Episode 2"Lucy ForbesAbi Morgan30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
Vincent and Cassie make a public appeal for information about Edgar. Ledroit's investigation leads him to the apartment building super, George Lovett, who was imprisoned years ago for a sex offense involving a minor. Ledroit finds evidence in Lovett's apartment that Edgar spent time there. However, during questioning Lovett explains that Edgar often stayed with him when his parents argued. While handing out missing persons flyers, Cassie spots a homeless woman wearing a similar red jacket to the one Edgar had. Vincent returns unexpectedly to work and pitches Eric to his boss, Lennie, who convinces executives from their network to consider Vincent's pitch in an upcoming meeting. Ledroit returns to The Lux, discovering that a kitchen worker's son was the child whose voice he heard on his recording. Combing through CCTV footage from the block of the Andersons' apartment, he discovers that Vincent left the building very shortly after Edgar, which is quite different from the account of events Vincent had given him previously. Vincent sets about creating a mock-up of Eric's puppet, all the while plagued by the imaginary Eric, who both encourages him to pursue this idea and cautions him against antagonizing others in his life.
3"Episode 3"Lucy ForbesAbi Morgan30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
Lovett is released and cleared of all charges. Ledroit re-focuses his investigation on Vincent, who is frantically preparing to pitch Eric to the network. During questioning at the police station, Vincent reveals that he had followed Edgar from their building that morning into an alleyway, where the two had a confrontation resulting in his tearing Edgar's t-shirt and then using it to wipe his own blood from the wound he sustained in that incident. Nearby CCTV footage confirms Vincent's account of what happened. Vincent is released. Cassie meets and sympathizes with Cecile, the mother of another missing boy, Marlon Rochelle, who disappeared the year before. Vincent delivers a successful pitch to the network. But one of the executives later tells Lennie that they want to take on the character of Eric but get rid of Vincent, citing his volatile behavior. Cecile convinces Ledroit to resume the search for Marlon as part of his investigation despite a lack of evidence of his whereabouts, much to his superior's frustration. In a village for homeless people in the subway, Edgar is revealed to be alive and held in captivity.
4"Episode 4"Lucy ForbesAbi Morgan30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
Lennie informs Vincent that the network has fired him, and Vincent responds with a furious tirade about Lennie's disloyalty. Vincent goes to an elegant restaurant to confront Jerry, a network executive, but Vincent's father, Robert, a wealthy real estate developer, appears and marches Vincent out of the place. He promises to support Vincent - if Vincent goes to rehab. When Vincent returns home, Cassie demands he move out. She reveals that she is pregnant with another child, whose father is a charity worker she is having an affair with. In the subway homeless village, it is shown that Edgar is there because he had followed a homeless man, Yuusuf, who is often in his neighborhood. Edgar admits he did this because he was curious about the man's tag artwork. Ledroit questions a sanitation worker about finding Edgar’s bloodied t-shirt, which he discovered on CCTV footage. Ledroit learns that his partner, William Elliot, has died of AIDS. Vincent stays with Lovett after leaving Cassie and asks to see Edgar’s drawings of their neighborhood. Upon inspection, he realizes that the drawings are actually a map, which he now believes will lead him to Edgar. Ledroit, having found that Lennie was once arrested in a club frequented by young gay hustlers, questions Lennie about Edgar and Marlon, and Lennie gives him the name of someone who might have last seen the latter of the two boys.
5"Episode 5"Lucy ForbesAbi Morgan30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
6"Episode 6"Lucy ForbesAbi Morgan30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)

Production

Development

Netflix commissioned the six-part series in November 2021 to be made by production companies Little Chick and Sister. [4]

The script was written by Abi Morgan with Lucy Forbes directing and serving as executive producer. Holly Pullinger will produce the series with Cumberbatch starring and acting as executive producer. Jane Featherstone and Lucy Dyke of Sister will also executively produce, and Morgan is also an executive producer via Little Chick. [5]

Casting

In February 2023, it was revealed that joining Cumberbatch in the cast would be Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler, Clarke Peters, Ivan Morris Howe, Phoebe Nicholls, David Denman, Bamar Kane, Adepero Odyue, Alexis Molnar, and Roberta Colindrez. Later the same month, Jeff Hephner and Wade Allain-Marcus joined the cast. [6] [7]

Filming

Principal photography began by early 2023 with filming locations including Budapest and New York. [8] Cumberbatch was photographed by the media in the street with glasses and a dark green trench coat. [9]

Release

The series was released on Netflix on 30 May 2024. [10]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 51 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Startlingly disturbing despite its outwardly fuzzy appearance, Eric is a perverse genre-bender that may not fully articulate all of its ideas but offers a memorably demented binge." [11] On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [12]

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References

  1. ↑ Goldbart, Max (3 February 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch To Lead & EP Netflix's 'Eric' From Abi Morgan & Sister". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. ↑ King, Aidan (4 January 2023). "'Eric': Benedict Cumberbatch in Talks to Star in Netflix Limited Series". Collider . Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Seddon, Dan; Cook, Rebecca (31 May 2024). "Benedict Cumberbatch reveals bosses "said no" to original Eric voice". Digital Spy . Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  4. ↑ Yossman, K.J. (30 November 2021). "Netflix Commissions Five U.K. Series Including Re-Make of David Nicholls' 'One Day' and Abi Morgan's 'Eric'". Variety . Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Otterson, Joe (4 January 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch in Talks to Star in Netflix Limited Series 'Eric' From Abi Morgan, Sister (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (22 February 2023). "'Insecure's Wade Allain-Marcus Boards Benedict Cumberbatch-Led Series 'Eric'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  7. ↑ Goldbart, Max (9 February 2023). "'Chicago Fire' Star Jeff Hephner Boards Benedict Cumberbatch Netflix Series 'Eric'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Otterson, Joe (3 February 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch-Led Netflix Limited Series 'Eric' Rounds Out Main Cast". Variety. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Sarkisian, Jacob (15 May 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch transforms for new Netflix series Eric". Digital Spy . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  10. ↑ @NetflixUK (22 March 2024). "Eric stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann and McKinley Belcher III. This emotional crime drama follows the desperate search of a father when his nine year old son disappears one morning on the way to school. Coming 30 May. #NextOnNetflix" (Tweet). Retrieved 22 March 2024– via Twitter.
  11. ↑ "Eric: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Eric: Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved 2 June 2024.
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